Austria's Waste Industry Generates Nine Billion Euros in Turnover Annually

The Institute for Industrial Research (IWI) has produced a study that comprehensively analyses the economic value added of the sector for the first time. The result: last year, 2,998 companies in the waste and resources sector with around 31,000 employees generated 9.17 billion euros.

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On behalf of the public and private waste management industry, the Institute for Industrial Research (IWI) has conducted a study that comprehensively analyses the economic value added of the sector for the first time. The result: last year, 2,998 companies in the waste and resources sector with around 31,000 employees generated 9.17 billion euros. Austria's waste management industry recycles 34 per cent of all waste generated and therefore makes an important contribution to the circular economy. 600 million was invested in 2024, primarily in new recycling plants. Most of the plants are located in Lower Austria, Upper Austria and Styria.

The Austrian waste and resource management industry collects, sorts and recycles around 74 million tonnes of waste in 3,500 facilities every year. The industry is growing at an above-average rate, with revenue increasing by 80 per cent in a 10-year comparison. In 2024, the Austrian waste management industry generated a total economic output of almost 20 billion euros. Around 34 per cent of all waste is recycled, and the Austrian sector even has the second-highest recycling rate for municipal and household waste in Europe at 62 per cent [1]. In 2022, almost 20 million tonnes of secondary raw materials were returned to the production cycle through recycling alone [2]. Experts agree that Austria needs a Schengen area for waste and a functioning market for secondary raw materials in order to remain a pioneer in European waste management. The IWI study combines a comprehensive input-output analysis based on data from Statistics Austria, which makes it possible to visualise both direct and indirect impulses via intermediate inputs, with case studies and company data.

Capacities for 210 million tonnes of waste

Around 3000 companies with plant capacities of more than 210 million tonnes ensure a functioning waste management sector in Austria. Most of the companies are located in the federal states of Lower Austria, Upper Austria and Styria, and 87% of the sector's economic power lies in waste treatment.

Dr Alexandra Loidl, Vice President of the Association of Public Waste Management Companies (VÖA): ‘Austria's successful model is based on decades of excellent cooperation between municipal and private companies. More than 30,000 employees in climate-relevant green jobs ensure that household, commercial and industrial waste is collected properly and recycled in the best possible way.’

As a central component of the circular economy, the industry has a key responsibility to keep raw materials in the cycle for as long as possible and to achieve the recycling targets of the Green Deal. A total of 62 per cent of all municipal waste generated in Austria is recycled, with particularly high recycling rates for metal, paper and glass waste. The use of these secondary materials significantly reduces greenhouse gas emissions. Furthermore, the industry's CO2 emissions have fallen from 4.6 to 2.3 million tonnes of CO2 equivalents since 1990. This corresponds to a reduction of minus 50 per cent. This makes the waste and resource management industry the sector with the greatest reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. Finally, thanks to thermal utilisation, the waste industry produces energy from non-recyclable waste such as residual waste, thereby reducing Austria's dependence on the energy sector.

‘Lower CO2 emissions, energy generation from waste and the production of recycled materials for Austria's economy: our industry is one of the most important players in the circular economy and thus makes an enormous contribution to climate protection,’ confirms Martin Niederhuber, President of the Austrian Water and Waste Management Association.

Industry calls for fair competition for secondary raw materials

The IWI study also analysed the economic networking of the waste management industry. A high level of added value is achieved thanks to technology suppliers who provide, for example, the necessary IT and AI, collection vehicles as well as machines and solutions for recycling. Austria is one of the top 5 EU nations for patent applications related to waste management; 110 FFG projects have been launched since 2017, half of which deal with recycling. In 2024 alone, the waste management industry invested more than 600 million euros, primarily in new plants. To ensure that Austria remains one of the pioneers in European waste management, the industry is calling for waste to be subject to the free movement of goods.

Andreas Opelt, Vice President of the Association of Austrian Waste Management Companies, explains: ‘Thanks to investments in efficient technologies, we can recover recyclable materials of the highest quality from recycling processes. Waste is a valuable resource and should be subject to the free movement of goods. A ‘Schengen area’ for waste and recyclates is necessary to ensure fair competition with primary raw materials.’ The industry has been calling for improved framework conditions and minimum utilisation quotas for recycled materials for years in order to compensate for competitive disadvantages compared to primary raw materials. At present, high administrative costs, various obligations to provide evidence and complex transport requirements make secondary raw materials more expensive than primary raw materials.

Waste industry secures 75,000 jobs

In 2024, the waste management sector generated a total economic output of 19.45 billion euros. The IWI study puts the contribution to domestic GDP at 6.64 billion euros. The waste management industry thus indirectly secures more than 75,000 jobs. Customer industries include the property and housing sector (50% of the value of goods) as well as the recycling-orientated production sectors of the metal industry (8%) and the paper manufacturing and processing industry (3%). In an EU comparison, the sector has above-average economic strength in relation to population density. Austria is already well on the way to achieving the EU recycling targets, for example for municipal waste (62%, target 55% by 2025) and the landfill rate (1.8%, target below 10% by 2035); there is a need to catch up in the recycling rate for plastic packaging (25%, target 50% by 2025).

Harald Höpperger, Chairman of the Austrian Federal Economic Chamber's Waste and Resource Management Association (FVERM): ‘Waste management is a showcase model for an industry that combines economic efficiency with ecological responsibility. By producing recycled materials, we conserve important resources and at the same time reduce our dependence on imported primary raw materials.’

[Source: OTS, 27 January 2025, VOEB]


Please find here the original publication in german.